vietnam war commemoration summer 2013

7/29/2019 Vietnam War Commemoration Summer 2013

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THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAVIETNAM WAR COMMEMORATION

DoD Ofce of Commemorations

Director

Claude Mick KicklighterLt. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.)

Chief, Strategic Communications

MJ J adick

Public Affairs Ofcer

Valerie Palacios

Capt., U.S. Army

Contact us at:1101 Wilson Blvd, Ste., 810

Arlington, VA 22209

1-877-387-9951

www.VietnamWar50th.com

SUMMER 2013 COMMEMORATION NEWSLETTESEPTEMBER 2013

50th Anniversary

Photo and Story By J.D. LeipoldArmy News Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2013 Theafternoon in the Pentagon auditorium onAug. 28 was a time for reection on a war

that spanned 10 years and cost the coun-try the lives of more than 58,000 youngmen and women. It was also an occasionto honor and thank nine Vietnam WarVeterans whod served a total of 14 toursin-country and 225 years in uniform.Kicking off the Armys rst event com-memorating the 50th anniversary of theconict, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond V.Mason, deputy chief of staff for logis-tics, opened the ceremony recalling per-sonal memories as well as his broaderexperiences as a young American citizen.

I was a young Army brat and it was dif-cult for me to watch my dad come backafter his third tour in Vietnam and notget treated appropriately, at least in mymind, Mason said. I was just a prettyyoung guy at that time, but I could feelthat it wasnt right. It struck me, and Iknew if I ever had the opportunity tomake that right I would do the best I could.

Today, we are recognizing nine of ourpatriots and their families who stood up

Take a look at what is

going on throughout thenation:

Sept. 16-18: Air and Space Con-ference and Technology Exposi-tion

Sept. 17-22: Society of Air ForceNurses National Convention

Sept. 19: Georgia State Gover-nors Commemorative Flag andCertificate Presentation

Sept. 19-21: The Ride Home

honoring all former Prisoners ofWar and remembering those stillMissing in Action

More event details on page 3

@VietnamWar50th

/VietnamWar50th

to the test of their generation and thedecade, he continued. I think its weoverdue. Nothing is more important thapausing and reecting on the sacrices owhat these great men and women did anthose who gave their last full measure

By Christmas of 1965, nearly 200,000 sevicemembers were in Vietnam. At warend, April 30, 1975, nearly three millioAmericans had been on the ground, in thair and on the rivers of Vietnam. Morthan 58,000 Americans lost their live

On Memorial Day 2012, a ceremony waheld in Washington, D.C. to symbolizthe beginning of our nations attempt tright a wrong that occurred more tha50 years ago. It took place at one o

the most sacred places on the NationaMall - The Vietnam Veterans Memoria- known to most simply as The Wall

The goal is to get more than 10,000 coporations, civic groups as well as government and community organizations tjoin as partners and help sponsor hometown events to honor Vietnam Veterans, their families and those who wer

prisoners of war and missing in action

contd on next pag

Army G-4: Saluting Our Own Vietnam Veteransat the Pentagon

Lt. Gen. Raymond V. Mason, the Armys Deputy Chief of Sta, G-4, recognized nine Viet-

nam Veterans who currently work in the Army G-4.
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THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

COMMEMORATION

Page 2 of 5

contd

To date, 4,941 commemorative partners

have signed on, including Army logis-tics, or G-4, which joined this spring.

Following Masons remarks, ArmyVice Chief of Staff Gen. John F.Campbell thanked him and his teamfor leading the way to celebrate thecontributions of Vietnam Veterans.

The son of an Air Force senior master ser-geant, Campbell told of his years grow-ing up on military bases around the world

before attending West Point, and then re-

called his rst interaction with VietnamVeterans while a lieutenant in Germany.

Both the battalion commanders wereVietnam Veterans ... all the platoon ser-geants, all the rst sergeants, all thecompany commanders were VietnamVeterans, Campbell said. The vets,he said, instilled in him their hard-fought lessons learned from Vietnamand wanted to make sure the younglieutenants and soldiers wouldntmake the same mistakes they had.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude MickKicklighter serves as director of the

U.S. Vietnam War Commemora-tion. During the Pentagon event, hepreviewed the time line of plans forhonoring Vietnam Veterans acrossthe country over the next few years.

Veterans of Valor, a 30-minute docu-mentary with the nine honorees recall-ing humorous and somber anecdotesof their war experiences and inter-spersed with still photographs of them-selves in Vietnam was also premiered.

If you missed this event, you canstill watch it by going to: www.V i e t n a m W a r 5 0 t h . c o m / v i d e o s .

It costs nothing to become a Com-memorative Partner! Many groupsare already honoring veterans atsuch events as Memorial Day pa-rades and Veterans Day activities.We ask Partners to simply considerspecically highlighting those whoserved during the Vietnam WarEra! Truly, it is as simple as that!

The Commemorative Partner Pro-

gram is designed for federal, state andlocal communities, veterans organi-zations and other nongovernmentalorganizations to assist a grateful na-tion in thanking and honoring ourVietnam Veterans and their familiesas directed by Congress through Pub-lic Law Section 110-181 SEC.589.

You might consider having your of-ce, church, or social organization

become a partner. To nd out more,visit: www.VietnamWar50th.com/commemorative_partners/.

Organizations need to submit anapplication and a signed State-ment of Understanding. The pro-cess takes no longer than 30 days.Partners will be informed throughelectronic notications. Once ap-proved as a Commemorative Part-ner, the Commemoration Program

will provide organizations with astarter kit composed of materials fordeveloping and implementing theirprograms. Commemorative Part-ners must commit to conduct twoevents each year from 2015-2017.

The program be-gan in October

2012, with thegoal of attaining5,000 partnersby 2014. We areon track and cur-rently have 4,941CommemorativePartners signed

up. We are ask-

ing for your help

to recruit more

communities and

organizations all

across the UnitedStates of America.

When you be-come a partner,we will add youto our list locatedon our websiteand possibly linkto your organiza-tions website. Youcan see a current

You may be a Commemorative Partner, now help by tellingothers how they can sign up

list of our Commemorative Part-ners, visit: http://bit.ly/14nrgxQ.If you have any other questions or re-quire some assistance, please contactThomas Graft at 703-697-4874, oremail [email protected].

Mrs. Martha West, Kopperl Independent School District kinder-

garten teacher in Waco, Texas holds her schools Commemora-

ve Partner ag. Mrs. West is joined by Alfred West, Special

Forces Vietnam Veteran, and Congressman Bill Flores, U.S.

Congressional District 17.
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COMMEMORATION

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People dont understand that it takescourage to use the rie, but sometimesit takes even more courage to be ableto ght with just our minds and to notgive in. We found that out living in thatPOW camp, said U.S. Army Pfc. Da-vid Harker, former Vietnam War POW.

The United States of America VietnamWar Commemoration touch-es many aspects of Vietnamveterans lives. More thannine million service mem-

bers fought and sacricedduring Americas involve-ment in the War. Their ex-periences are compelling,real and a part of Americanhistory. The VWCs His-tory and Education Branchheaded by Mark Frank-lin has partnered with re-nowned Vietnam War cor-respondent, Joe Gallowayto help capture the OralHistories of Vietnam Veter-ans. The H&E team is ac-

tively engaged developing aprocess to collect and produce a se-ries of Vietnam Veteran oral histories.

These oral histories represent anopportunity to recognize the ser-vice of scores of Vietnam Veter-ans, tell meaningful stories of sig-

nicance, and help inform millionsof Americans about the sacrice en-dured and valor exhibited by so many.

The mission of the VWC is to assistour nation in thanking and honoringits Vietnam War Veterans and theirfamilies, the fallen, the wounded, thosewho were held as Prisoners of War,

and those still listed as unaccountedfor. The mission of the H&E Branchis to provide the American public andschool grades six through 12, with aclearer understanding and apprecia-tion of the service, valor and sacriceof our Vietnam War veterans and to

Vietnam War News Correspondent J oe GallowayRecords Vietnam Veterans Experiences

Events contdSept. 16-18: Air and Space Conferenceand Technology ExposionGaylord National Resort201 Waterfront StreetNational Harbor, MD 20745More: http://bit.ly/18pgdkI

Sept. 17-22: Society of Air Force NursesNaonal ConvenonDoubletree Hilton Hotel363 Maine Mall RoadPortland, ME 04106More: http://bit.ly/13a98EL

Sept. 19: Georgia State Governors Com-memorave Flag and Cercate Presen-taonGeorgia State Capitol100 Washington StreetAtlanta, GA 30334More: http://bit.ly/1dDT7Ng

Sept. 19-21: The Ride Home honoringall former Prisoners of War and remem-bering those still Missing in ActionStorm Dome at Georgia Southwestern StateUniversity800 Georgia Southwestern State University

Dr.Americus, GA 31709More: http://bit.ly/14gS4zw

Oct. 21-23: Associaon of the UnitedStates Army (AUSA Convenon)Walter E. Washington Convenon Center801 Mt. Vernon Pl NWWashington, DC 20001More: hp://ausameengs.org/annual/

Nov. 9: The City of Auburns Annual VeteransDay ParadeVeterans Memorial Park411 E. St. NEAuburn, WA 98002More: http://bit.ly/176aC3v

Nov. 9-11: The Vietnam WomensMemorial Foundation - 20th Anni-versary Celebration of the Dedica-tion of the VWMThe Embassy Suites Downtown1250 22nd Street NW

Washington, DC 20037More: http://bit.ly/15Bno69

Nov. 10: NYC Veterans Week- Bandof Pride ConcertFather Duffy SquareTimes Square ManhattanManhattan, NY 10036More: http://bit.ly/18B3Bpp

Nov. 11: NYC Veterans Week- Patri-ot Row Street Fair and 94th AnnualVeterans Day ParadeVarious locations throughout Man-hattanMore: http://bit.ly/18B3Bpp

tell the story about their service andthat period of our nations history.

Once launched, the Oral History Pro-gram will include all ranks, all servicesand all experiences to the extent pos-sible. Upon completion these videooral histories will be made available forviewing on the Vietnam War Commem-

o r a t i o n sw e b s i t eand even-tually dis-

t r i b u t e dvia DVDsto middleand highs c h o o l sacross thec o u n t r yfor use inthe class-room. Theseries ofinterviews

will also beshared with

the Libraryof Congress Veterans History Project.Veterans interested in sharing theirexperiences and letting their his-torical voices be heard in supportof the oral history project shouldstayed tuned for upcoming an-nouncements on how to participate.

Who beer to tell the story of the Vietnam War, than the Vietnam Veterans themselves. TheVietnam Veterans personal experiences are the stories that truly capture the legacy of theVietnam Veteran.
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COMMEMORATION

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30th Field Artillery Regimental Associa-

tion

AFROTC DET 643 Wright State University

AFROTC Iowa State University

Ah Dah Wa Gam, National Society Daugh-

ters of the American Revolution (DAR)

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.

Saddleback Valley Chapter

American Legion California District 29

American Legion Post 290 Dept of Ohio

AMVETS ND Roy C. Wagner Memorial

Post 9

Anchors and Iron Tactical Outtters

Associates of VVA, Inc

Brooks W. Stewart VFW Post 9832

California Vietnam Veterans Memorial

25th Anniversary Event Committee

Caroline Close Stuart Chapter, NSDAR

CONR-1AF(AFNORTH)

Conway High School JROTC

David Westphall Veterans Foundation

Dept of NY, AGSM, Inc.

Fort Belvoir Survivor Outreach Services Gold Star Wives New England Region

GSW Mountain Laurals chapter

Hawaii Chapter AUSA

Helicopter Association International

Henry Hart Post 1411 VFW

Huntsville Chapter NSDAR

Illinois State Organization DAR

Jannas Food Farm

Katuktu Chap-

ter NSDAR

Knights of

Columbus-

Greater Day-

ton Chapter

Lake Havasu

City, Ari-

zona

Lebanon Cor-

rectional

InstitutionVVA Chap-

ter 592

Lone Star -

DAR

Madison Coun-

ty Veterans

Service

Agency

Marine Corps Intelligence Association,

Inc.

Maryland Public Television

Mid Valley Products

Middletown Township

Military Order of the Purple Heart

MOPH, New Mexico

National Defense University

Noncommissioned Ofcers Association

Northern NJ Chapter of the AUSA

NROTC Consortium-Atlanta

NROTC University of Minnesota

NROTCU Penn

State

NSDAR Jean Marie

Cardinell Chapter

Ofce of The Adju-

tant General, Maine

Pittsburg State Uni-

versity

Putnam County Vet-

erans Service Agency

Recreation Centers

of Sun City West

Rockford Charter

Chapter VietNow

Rogersville Chamber

of Commerce

Santa Margarita Chapter NSDAR

State of Maine State of Maryland The Ohio State University Thunderbirds Alumni Association Tulane University NROTCU U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Unilever VFW Department of Washington VFW Post 6165

VFW Post 9738

Vietnam Veterans Event Executive

Planning Committee

VVA - Chapter 10 VVA - Chapter 671 VVA - Chapter 900 VVA - VSC VVA - Chapter 233 VVA - Chapter 566

VVA - LA Council VVA of Northeast SD, Chapter 1054 VVA - Chapter 787 VVA - Chapter 1049

VVA - Chapter 1027, St. Joseph County, IN VVA - Chapter 1045 VVA - Chapter 255

VVA - Chapter 35 VVA - Chapter 649 VVA - Chapter 785, Orange County VVA - Chapter 810

West Point Society of Michigan

York County Veterans Affairs

This Summer, more than 100 Commemorative Partners signed up - Daughters of the

American Revolution and The State of Maryland are among them

Secretary of Veterans Aairs Eric K. Shinseki spoke during the

opening recepon and meeng at this years Military Order of the

Purple Heart 81st Annual Naonal Convenon in Rogers, Ark.

Bey Pulliam was among four Gold Star Mothers who received a Cer-

cate of Honor, which recognizes the signicant sacrices made by her

loved one, herself and her family.


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COMMEMORATION

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/VietnamWar50th

Like us on FacebookClick and share the latest in

Vietnam Veteran news

Follow us on Twitter

Find videos and stories about what your

community is doing to recognize Viet-

nam Veterans.Did you see Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagels message to fel-

low Vietnam Veterans for the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War

Commemoration?

If not, go to www.VietnamWar50th.com/videos to watch!

Find recent articles about Vietnam Vet-

erans or stop by to share one you may

have found.

Follow Vietnam Veteran events as they

take place with posted pictures or video.

Did you know?The granite used for the Vietnam Veterans

Memorial in Washington, D.C. is from Banga-

lore, India. The granite was used because of its

deep color and consistency. The ve foot panel

weighs 875 lbs. The ten foot panel weighs 1750

lbs.

9.1 million men and women in U.S. Militaryservice in total from Aug. 4, 1964 (Gulf ofTonkin attack) to April 1, 1973 (last POWsreleased).

Over 153,000 U.S. Soldiers were wounded in

Southeast Asia from 1955 to 1975 (requiring

hospital care). Approximately 220,000 Purple

Hearts awarded in Vietnam.

The Draft/Lottery The rst Draft Lottery (by

birth date drawing) was Dec. 1, 1969 (took up

to #195).

@VietnamWar50th
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vietnam war commemoration summer 2013

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